The second reason was down to Barcelona, who felt that Sanllehi could have done more to prevent Neymar’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain before the start of the season.

‘Raul’s appointment is another important step in developing the infrastructure we need at the club to take everything we do to the next level,’ Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis told the club’s official website.

‘Raul has extensive contacts across the football world and has been directly involved in some of the biggest transfers in Europe in recent years. We look forward to him bringing that expertise to Arsenal.’